Counter-current cooler



` Aug. l5, 1933.

A. W. BAUMANN COUNTER CURRENT COOLER Filed May 14. 1952 Patented Aug.,15,19334 'Y I v v ticularly designed and intended for thev cooling l 'Y1,922,149-f\ v f acumen-CURRENT cooLER i ,ArnoldgW. Baumann, Chicago, hlll." ApplicatiniijMayia 1932. semina. `611,?.34 Y i 1 claim. (c1. 257-229)A `This inventionrelatesto coolers of a type parproximately `constant throughout'the apparatus.` To accomplish the results discussed, I arrange of `condensed milkUfollowing `its treatmentin 'the mi1k=co`nduit in a' pair ofconcentrically dis-` evaporating apparatus known` as'the vacuum posed helicalcoils, preierablyconstructed of con- 57 pan. Oneobiect of the invention is to provide tinuou's tubing; The inlet `for the ,milk is indi- 60 a continuoussmooth passage forthe milk or any cated at 1,`"this`being the lower end of the vinner other iiuid being similarly treated, Ysuch passage helical coil, 2,1 whose turnsfrisefto the topjof the being sofarranged thatitcan bereadilyandoomapparatus where the last`,turn is connected into pletely drained. 'Another object is to control the the upper ,turn of the outer coil, Bf, through which iiow of cooling liquid in relation to the" aforethe milkfilows'downwardlytofan outlet, 4.,`."'Ihe` 65 said passage so as to insure` eiiicient coolinglacflow of the cooling wateris controlled `by mounting tion without an undue difference of temperathe coils, Zand 3, in a tankof annular 'cross-"secture as between two liquids at any point in the` tion, having an outer cylindrical wall, `5, and an circuit. A further object is to provide a con- `inner wall, 6, between which both coils, 2 and 3,

: struction which can be economically built and inare disposed. A cylindrical baliie wall, 7, rises m;

stalled, and which shallbe relatively simple to from the bottom, 8, of the tank, to alpoint near operate. The invention consists in various fea' the top, thus extending up to the last turn of the tures and elements of construction in combinainner coil, so that only the portion of the tubingV tion, as herein shown and described, and as indiwhich connectsthe inner and outer coils extends f "52a cated by the claim. 1 over thetop of the baiiie wall, '7. The cooling 75.

In the drawing: l i water is admitted at the lower portion of the tank Figure 1 is a vertical section taken axially of adjacent the outer wall, 5, preferably by means of .l the device. l f l `two or more tangentially arranged inlets, 9, 9, as

Figure 2 is a transverse section on a smaller indicated in Figure 2. Thefincoming water,

scale,` taken substantially as'. indicated atV line which is the; coldest, thus comes rst in contact so,

2 2 on Figure 1. i with the milk in the coil, 3, adjacent the outlet, 4. Figure 3 is a transverse section similar to Fg- The water rises between the outer wall, 5, and the ure 2, showing a modiiiedconstruction, but omitbaffle wall, 7, in contact with the coil, 3, `until it ting the coils. overflows. the baille wall, 7, and descends between The cooler which isthe subject oi this inven` said bamewall and the inner wall, 6, of the` tank. 85j

tion, has been particularly designed for use with Near the bottom of the tank the inner wall, 6is` sweetened condensed milk, which. is .heated for provided with outlets shownconnected into rad'ievaporating aportion of the water content in a ally disposed pipes, 10, which lead to a central sci-called vacuum pan or corresponding appara. manifold fitting, ll, and` thence to a stand pipe,

" 352tus', and `is then Vpassed .through a cooler for re- 12. Vthrough which the outowing water lows up- 901 ducing the temperature `of the milk. In the wardly to any suitable wdischarge, not shown. cooling processthere is a tendency for thesugar Near the upper end of the outlet pipe, 12, a therin the milk solutionio crystallize to` some ex-` mometer may be arranged at 13 to indicate the tent, and if the warm solution meets with a sud@ temperature of the water leaving the cooler.

. aluden lowering `of its temperature the crystals are As shown, the spacing of the bailie wall, 7 from `95 likely to be large and coarse, or to agglomerate, the walls, 5 and 6, of the tank, is such that the whereas if the cooling can be effected gradually clear space between the walls and the coils, 2 and the crystals or sugar particles can be keptrex` 3, is not great; thel result is that as thewater cee'dingly` line, so that they remain unnoticeable enters tangentially at the inlets, 9, it tends to flow in suspension in the thickenedV liquid. This is the circularly, orrather hellcally, in the outer space 1.00 more desirable` result; accordingly, in my apor jacket surrounding thecoil, 3, being more or paratus, I have `arranged so that the cold` wa less guided by the shape of the coils themselves, ter used to absorb heatV from the milk shall come and, similarly, it will `tend to follow the helical` in contactfirsr, with `the coolest portion of the form'of the coil, 2, in descending through the 1,50' milk, and as the water temperature rises, the inner jacket. This tends t0 extend the path 0f 105 water moves toward the warmer end of the milk the water movement approximately parallel to the conduit. There is always a considerable temper-V path of flow of material through the helical coils, ature difference maintained as between the wa A 2 and 3, but in the opposite direction, providing ter and the milk, so that transfer of heat is time for the exchange of heat from, the milk to i assured, but the temperaturel difference is `apthe water. By reason of this counter-current ar- 110 rangement the temperature difference at any point in the circulation system within the cooler is kept at a minimum, since the coldest water entering at 9 comes in contact, first, with the tubes containing the nearly cooled milk approaching the outlet, 4, and as the water travels upwardly in the outer jacket, and then downwardly through the inner jacket, it absorbs more and more heat from the milk, so that the water at maximum temperature is that which ows in contact with the coils, 2, adjacent the inlet, 1, where the milk is the hottest.

Throughout the circuit the water is, of course, much cooler than the milk, and capable of .absorbing heat therefrom at any l point 'in' the system. y

The arrangement of the water outlet so that it includes the stand pipe, 1'2, insures'that when with Water instead of immediately draining, or partially draining, as it might do if the outlet led downwardly from the manifold, 11. l

For convenience of construction I have :shown upright frame bars', 14, disposed at eachsi'de o1 theV coils, 2 and 3, and connectedl at "intervals by bolts, 1'5, which tend to hold vthe coils inV properly spaced relation. These bars, 14, may be spaced 'in Vpairs"a'trthreeor four points in the circumference of the coils, so that the milk` coil may be set up as a unit and then inserted in the tank before the annular cover plate, 1'6, is placed in position.

Figure 3 shows a slight modification of the structure indicating how the expense of the outlet piping, 10, 11, 12, may be saved by making the bottom Wall of the cooler a continuous circular plate instead of annular, as shown in Figure 1. The central portion, 20, vof this Wall, thus forms the bottom of a central chamber within the cylindrical wall, 6a, and a plurality of openings, 21, near the lower end of 'slid wall, 6, serve for discharge of cooling' fluid from the inner annular chamber to the central space. Within the central space the cooling fluid will rise for overflow a't the top, and, preferably, the top wall, instead ofbeing annular, as shown at 16 in Figure 1, Will 'be a Vcomplete circular cover plate With an outlet Y. pipe (not shown) secured therein in any con- Venient manner.

' I claim: the apparatus is shut down it Will remain illed A cooling unit comprising an annular chamber for cooling fluid with a helical coil disposed therein, 'the walls of the chamber and said coil cooperating to form a helical path for the cooling fluid, the chamber having an inlet for the fluid vadjacent one end of the coil and an outlet leading from a point 4near the opposite end, the inlet for said cooling iiuid being arranged to discharge tangentially into the annular chamber for initiating 'the flow in a circumferential direction.

ARNOLD W. BAUMANN. 

